Love and War Reincarnation
by Kae Rae Gallatin
Summary: A rewrite of a story. Due to some rather unpleasant circumstances, Sora and Roxas move to a new place, hoping to leave their past behind. It isn't always that easy, because sometimes the past doesn't just haunt you, it follows you. Warning!:Kairi bashing
1. A Glimpse of the Past

So- This is a rewrite of thewateryfiredrummer's story. I am keeping the original pairings and ideas, but fixing the story up and writing more. So if any of the pairings and so on seem unlike my usual, it is probably something that was the original writer's intention.

Hope it's at least decent!

Disclaimer: Do not own characters and etc.

Love and War - Reincarnation

Chapter 1 - A Glimpse of the Past (Six years before the present day)

- Sora -

Sunlight streamed cheerily into my window as I slowly awoke. 'This is gonna be a fun day,' I thought, yawning loudly. I looked out my window to see bright blue skies, with only the barest amount of clouds. Destiny Islands was so pretty, and I loved living there. The sunlight made my skin warm as I clambered out of bed and stretched. From there I trekked to the bathroom, where I stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes, examining my face. It all looked the same, and I was a bit disappointed. Yesterday had been my tenth birthday, but I didn't look any older in the mirror. Same blue eyes, dark, spiky brown hair, and lightly tanned skin. I pulled at my cheeks. My aunt always said I had a baby face, but I didn't see it. Babies were weird looking. Oh well, I was ten now! Yeah, and…so was my brother. See, I have a twin brother. His name is Roxas.

I rushed through my morning bathroom routine, threw on random clothes, and dashed down the stairs. "Morning, Roxy!" I yelled, banging open the kitchen door. I flung myself into a chair, glancing over what was for breakfast before looking at my brother. I got a scowl in return, but that was expected. Roxas had never been a morning person. I grinned and got a view of the blond hair on the back of Roxas's head in return.

"Shut up, Sora." he muttered. Turning my gaze back to the table, I snatched up a couple of doughnuts and scarfed them down.

"Why the hurry, Sor-sor?" our mom asked from behind me. I spun around to look at her, and I probably had part of a donut hanging out of my mouth. She had appeared out of nowhere, it seemed. That happened a lot, and I often wondered if my mom was a ninja or something. She sure was sneaky. We could never even figure out where she hid our presents before Christmas or our birthday.

"Going to the play island!" I exclaimed between bites, "Kairi asked me to meet her there!" Roxas scowled when I said Kairi's name, because he really didn't like her. I had never seen any reason for his distrust of her, but Roxas wouldn't change his mind. I couldn't tell if he knew something I didn't, or just had an instinct I wasn't privy to. Either way, I had convinced myself that he was just being silly. Kairi was a sweet girl with dark red hair and blue eyes, and there was nothing wrong with her in my eyes. She wasn't my best friend, but we were really close, at least, I thought we were.

My best friend was named Riku. He was really tall, and had long, pretty silver hair. It reminded me of one of the princesses' hair in one of the fairy tales that mom used to read to Roxas and me when we were little, but there was no way that I would tell him that. Riku could wield a sword like no other, and I wanted to be just like him. It seemed like he was always just a little ahead of me, which was true even of our ages. He was a year older than me. He could run faster, farther, and beat me at almost everything. He was very restless, always talking about leaving Destiny Islands, his green eyes trained on the horizon with a slight dreamy look. I really believed him when he said he would be the first of all the kids on the islands to leave the islands behind.

I finished my breakfast, and kissed my mom on the cheek before heading for the front door. "Bye! See you later!" I shouted before closing the door behind me. I smiled at the bright sun, basking in its warmth as I walked towards the beach. It was the perfect day for spending time on the play island. I found my boat easily among the others on the shore, and pushed it into the water. It was light, just the right size to carry me. I hoisted myself into it. The waves were pleasant, and I spent most of the time it took to get to the play island wondering what Kairi wanted to do today. Kairi thought up some really fun games sometimes, and I hoped that she had thought up another for today.

After my boat was tied on the shore, I ran up the beach, up some stairs, and to the place with the paopu tree. Kairi was waiting quietly beneath the tree, lying on the ground, her short hair splayed about beneath her. She sat up quickly as I approached, motioning for me to sit down beside her with a friendly smile. As soon as I sat, she began to speak. "So…" she said softly, "What's going on between you and Riku?" I thought about the question, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. I pushed a loose strand of hair back into place. I really didn't get what she was implying. Riku and I were just the same as always…weren't we?

"You like him~" she whispered in a sing-song voice, the voice she always teased me with. Her smile seemed just- a little too happy. Nah, I had to be imagining that. Roxas must have rubbed off on me a little. I watched Riku crack open coconuts on another part of the island, silver hair flowing around his face.

"Yeah," I whispered back nervously, realizing just then that, yeah, maybe I did like him in that way. I was a bit stunned at that thought, and was going to ask Kairi what she thought I should do, when she spoke words that were like a spiked boot stomp to my poor child heart.

"It's too late," she said, her voice quiet, but laced with a thick layer of venom, "He shared a paopu fruit with me last night. We're going to get married when we're old enough, and we'll be together for-ever." She grinned maliciously, and my heart felt like it was falling to pieces. "He thinks you're a nuisance, but he's just too nice to tell you himself, so I thought I'd do it for him. If you know what's good for you, and for Riku, you'll stop hanging out with us. Riku hates you, don't you know that?" Her voice had remained calm, like we were only discussing what to do today, but her eyes had narrowed, and the nasty tone beneath that nice little girly voice stung like a burn.

I turned and fled, tears streaming down my face. I passed Riku, who turned like he was going to say something, looking worried, but Kairi tugged on his arm and distracted him. I ran all the way to my boat, and rowed as quickly as I could back to the main shore. I barely managed to make it up onto the shore, my eyes clouded with tears. Everything hurt, and I felt like I was going to fall apart. 'Roxas was right. Kairi is awful!' I spent the rest of the walk home rubbing the tears from my eyes. I stopped and washed my face in a public restroom. My eyes were red when I glanced in the mirror. I didn't know what to do. I had to stay away from Riku, even though we lived in this small town, and he was my best friend?

At home I snuck to my room, the one I shared with Roxas. I cried some more, and felt no comfort from my familiar room. When I ran out of tears, it felt like there was nothing left, like I didn't exist any more. It was like those words, those cruel words, had drained every bit of my will to live, every bit of my existing life, right out of me. I contemplated the swiss army knife I had gotten for my birthday. Somewhere I had heard that you could kill yourself quite easily with one, just by slicing veins until the blood all rushed out. No, I wouldn't try it, I couldn't. I had to be there for mom, and for Roxas. There was no way I would ever abandon them, just because I was hurting. Still, when Roxas flung open the door, I dropped the open knife to the floor. It made a clattering sound that echoed in my mind. I was startled to see a thin line of blood etched into my wrist. I hadn't intended to…

The look Roxas gave me was pure horror at first, then he hurried to the bathroom, dug out a washrag and a band-aid. He cleaned the cut and the knife, and shoved the knife in his pocket. "Don't you ever do that again!" he yelled at me, anger and shock in his expression. My tears returned, and I let out a choked sob. Roxas broke down too. He couldn't stay angry at me when I was upset, I guess. He hugged me, rocking us back and forth on the bed, reminiscent of the way Mom used to when we were little. "What's wrong?" asked Roxas. I told him everything Kairi had said, and he didn't look surprised. "What do I do?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes again.

"Don't worry, I'll figure it out." Roxas hugged me once more, and walked out, making sure to tuck his matching knife into his other shorts pocket. The next couple of days were a blur, and I didn't notice Roxas reading through newspapers every day until the one evening when I walked out to see him hand Mom the phone. "There's a man on the phone who says he'll give you work," said Roxas, smiling brightly at her. Mom had been looking for work for months and months now. She looked startled, then took the phone from Roxas and had a lengthy conversation with the man. When she was done, she pulled us to her, and hugged us tight. "I've got a job! A very well-paying one, too!" she looked down at Roxas, "You shouldn't get into Mommy's personal business, but just this once it's okay, because you got me the job!" She looked so happy. "You…don't mind moving though, do you?" she asked, suddenly all seriousness.

"I'm- really happy to get to live in a new place!" I went to fake a smile, but found myself genuinely happy to get away from Kairi. As long as…I didn't think of him.

"It's exciting, like an adventure!" Roxas exclaimed, pulling his cute face for Mom. She always gave in to that. Suddenly, she began rushing about the house, calling people and taking inventory of what we needed to pack. The next few days were busy, packing and loading things into a truck. I made sure to thank Roxas when we were about to go to sleep one night, and he just nodded and smiled. He had never had too many friends here, anyways, so we had just grown closer the last few days.

Thus we moved to Twilight Town.


	2. Where We Are Now

I've never written anything that had Roxas's p.o.v. before, so this was interesting. I can't stand AkuRoku…but I promise I'll restrain myself and be good.

Original Story: thewateryfiredrummer

Warning: Yaoi/Yuri pairings…if you didn't figure that out already…

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a Roxas plushie…and some other stuff…

Love and War - Reincarnation

Chapter 2 - The Place We Are Now (Present day)

-Roxas-

I groan as I force myself to crawl out of bed. I hate getting up so early to go to school; it's such a pain. Sora's side of the bed is empty, because he is already up, as is usual these days. He doesn't sleep well, ever. It worries me, but I won't say anything about it, because he will just give me that sad look and turn away again. I do what I have to do in the bathroom, and sleepily stumble downstairs.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" Sora exclaims obnoxiously as I enter the dining room. He's smiling, but I can tell it's fake. It's what he does to make Mom happy. "Shut up, Sora." I slump into a chair, glaring at a bowl of cheerios. I don't like cheerios. Mom walks in with a plate of waffles, and like clockwork, I look over at Sora, signal him, and we trade. I swear, Mom does this on purpose, just to watch us. I glance over at Sora, examining for any sign of how he's really feeling. His hair hides his face from the side. He's dyed it black since we turned fourteen, and straightens and gels it until it hangs straight down, though there's always this little piece that sticks up in the back and won't behave. Mom just figures he wants to look like her. Such a silly idea, but it makes her happy, and that's what counts. He looks up from his breakfast to say something to Mom, and I notice that the shadows under his eyes are more visible than usual.

He hasn't been the same since that girl hurt him. No longer are his smiles bright, or his mood playful. He just trudges through life, smiling for Mom and no one else. His looks are as dark as his mood, and he even puts on dark-colored contacts, which he's worn since we moved here. His excuse for that was that the sun was hurting his eyes, and they worked as good as sunglasses, without being so bulky. I still don't get how Mom bought that bull, but she just let it slide, I guess. Sora takes his half-eaten bowl of cereal to the kitchen and puts it down for the cat, going upstairs to put in the contacts and put on makeup to cover up the shadows and darken the area around his eyes. I miss the way my brother was when we were younger, like the opposite side of a coin from me. I've become less anti-social because of the way he's changed, but that doesn't mean that the way he is now is in any way good.

I purposely made friends so that I could pull him along and get him to have new friends too, hoping that it would help him. I'm really glad I did, because in the process, I found someone who adores me, however weird that seems. I get my bag and jacket, then sit in the front room, waiting on Sora. He takes forever in the bathroom, which is another of the habits he picked up after we moved. Mom heads off to work after yelling goodbye to Sora and waving at me. Sora comes down the stairs after she has left, hands in the pockets of his jacket. I motion him to me, and he pulls up his sleeves. No damage yet again. I sigh in relief. He's gotten angry a few times over how I check every morning, even though it was only once he cut himself, and then not on purpose, but he puts up with it. Sora being angry…just doesn't seem right to me, but it happens every now and then, when he loses it and just snaps. He sits in the chair in the corner of the room.

There's a sharp rap on the door, and I spring to my feet. Someone at the door before we go to school usually means that there is some interesting news to be told. I open the door to the gaze of two emerald green eyes. "Heya, Roxy, my love, how goes the morning?" my boyfriend Axel asks, smirking and being overly eloquent for anyone in the morning…on purpose, I know. He does things to annoy me all the time; he keeps saying I'm cute when I'm annoyed, but I really don't get it. I don't understand Axel at all. He tries to hug me, and I squirm out of his grasp. Looking disappointed and a tad bit offended, he asks, "What, Roxy? No hugs for the person who loves you more than anybody ever has?" I teasingly mock-slap his face, and he grins.

"Shut up, Axel," I reply, exasperated with his antics. I really don't like mornings. I frown at him, then drag him down towards me to kiss him quickly on the lips.

"Okay, now you can come in," I tell him, tugging on his hand. He follows me into the front room, and we sit on the couch, his arm around my shoulder. "News?" I ask.

"Well, I don't know…maybe I should just keep it to myself, and let you wonder…" Axel teases. I squeeze his hand until I can feel my fingers pressing hard against bone.

"Tell," I demand. He squirms around.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell," he mutters, and I release his hand. Sora has been looking at the floor the entire time, and I wonder what's going through his head. Sometimes I wish we had twin telepathy.

"I heard that there are going to be two new transfer students at the school, and they supposedly come from some chain of islands or another," Axel says, putting his hands behind his head. Sora looks up at me suddenly, and I can see terrified what ifs dancing around in his head.

"It's not likely," I say softly to him, and before Axel can ask what's going on, I quickly drag him to the front door, pull on my shoes, and pull him out the front door. I almost stumble over the front step, and Axel laughs at me, seemingly forgetting that he had wanted to ask what I had meant by what I said to Sora. He suddenly slings me up onto his back, giving me a piggy-back ride. "What the f-"

"Just making sure you don't get even more tired. We have that sleepover tonight, remember? It's Friday." I can tell Axel is smirking; he knows he is embarrassing me, and that it is too early in the morning for me to even remember what day it is on my own. Sora trudges slowly behind, and I notice that he looks nervous and flighty, like he could take off and run at the slightest unusual sound. That's never good.

"Fine," I consent, "but you had better put me down when we get to the cafeteria." Axel grins and doesn't say a thing, but I know he'll do as I said. I kind of like being up on his shoulders, since he's so much taller than I am. It's interesting seeing from up so high, but I won't tell him, or he'll do it even more.

The cafeteria is packed with students chit-chatting or, for the ones who eat breakfast at school, scarfing down food. From my perch, I have already spotted our friends. Axel puts me down, and I pull him and Sora toward the area where I had seen them. A quick glance at the table reveals that there are a few changes from the usual seating, but nothing too unexpected, so I sit across from Demyx, a dirty-blonde haired musician who is almost constantly chattering, though he is much more quiet today for some reason. Axel sits to my left, and Sora to my right, at the far end of the bench, as is usual. Sora never sits in between people, but is always by my side, silently observing. Everyone here takes that as normal, but it hurts me that he is so distant most of the time. I often wonder if Sora will ever be happy again, and wish with all my might that it might be so.

Zexion sits to Demyx's right, a rather large book in front of him, his slate-and-blue hair covering part of his face. Xion, who happens to be my second cousin, and who looks an awful lot like Sora and I, sits to Demyx's left. At the other end of the table are…Marluxia, a strange strawberry-haired man who is president of several clubs, and Larxene, the daughter of the vice-principal, who for some reason has attached herself to our circle of friends. They are having a vigorous make-out session, and Axel looks over at them with disgust before turning to look at Xion and ask, "Where's everyone else?"

She twiddles her fingers shyly. Even though she has been friends with almost everyone for many years, she still seems to have trouble speaking to them without gathering her thoughts for a bit first. No one minds, though. Xion is smart and a really good friend. "Pence is out sick, Namine and Olette had to go use the restroom…" She glances over at the table behind them, then quickly turns back around, eyes tightly closed. "Hayner…seems to have joined the dark side." They look over at the "dark side", which is what they call the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee amongst themselves. The TTDC is a group of arrogant people who think that they are better then anyone else, and think that everyone else should live by their example. They pick on Pence and Demyx a lot, and Roxas despises them.

Roxas gives Sora a what-the-fuck-is-that look after seeing Hayner and Seifer with their hands all over each other, and sees it reflected on Sora's face. "Gross," they say in unison. There had been a few signs that Seifer had liked Hayner, but Roxas thought that Hayner had decided he didn't want anything to do with Seifer… He shakes his head, annoyed that Hayner hasn't said anything to him. They are pretty much best friends, and something like this…Roxas isn't sure what to think, but he decides to look away, and talk to Hayner about it later.

"Hey, Sora, are you excited about the sleepover tonight?" asks Demyx, fiddling with the seashell necklace around his neck. Sora doesn't respond, and he is still looking in the direction of the "dark side" 's table.

"Sora?" Roxas whispers, nudging him in the side. Sora doesn't pay any attention at first, but then suddenly hides his face in Roxas's shoulder. Roxas, confused, looks up to see what Sora had been staring at to see Riku staring over at them, looking stunned. It has to be Riku, there is no mistaking the silver-haired boy, even though it has been six years. There are many things different about him, including the long hair with bangs that hang over his face, a change in the clothes he wears, and how different his attitude seems, but there is no doubt that the boy sitting over at the other table is Riku, especially with that slutty-looking redhead trying to get his attention.

Kairi. Oh, how he wants to strangle her, get his revenge right here. It was she who made his brother the way he is now, and had put them in the place they are now, with Roxas constantly making sure Sora isn't going to hurt himself, and Sora looking like a shell compared to his former self. Oh, he wants so badly to make her pay. His fists clench instinctively.

"R-roxas?" Sora whispers, trembling, into Roxas's chest, "Please tell me I'm just imagining that…"


	3. Haunted

Well…umm…this chapter sucked to write.

Original Story: thewateryfiredrummer

Warning: Yaoi/Yuri pairings…if you didn't figure that out already… Also, lots of Kairi-bashing, sorry to the Kairi fans.

Disclaimer: Umm…I own a copy of Re:CoM….but I don't own the rights...

Love and War - Reincarnation

Chapter 3 - Haunted

-Axel-

The look on Roxas's face, and the sound of Sora's voice scares me a little. Most of the time it seems like Sora doesn't care about much of anything, and seeing how Roxas looks like he is either about to go into shock or murder someone, it can't be good. I follow his gaze, seeing what I figure are the new students. The silver-haired one looks as stunned as Roxas. I glance over at Roxas, then shake him gently. "Hey, Roxy-babe, snap out of it." He eventually turns to look at Sora, and pulls him close. Demyx has been gaping at them from across the table.

"What's wrong?" he asks softly, blue-green eyes worried. Roxas just shakes his head at him.

"Sora, I need to go for a bit, okay? Don't even look over there, it'll make it worse. Just calm down, and don't think about that bitch, okay?" Roxas's voice is quieter than normal. It sounds like he is trying to reassure himself as much as his brother. I find myself and my bag being dragged from the table by my very angry looking boyfriend. He drags me to the hallway outside the cafeteria, and I protest the entire way. Outside the doors, far enough away so as not to be heard, he places a finger over my lips. I bite it, and he glares at me. "Now's not the time, Axel." His eyes have a bit of a glazed-over look, now that I am able to look straight into them. He's let go of my hand, and his fists are clenched.

"She hurt him, Axel. She's the one who destroyed my brother." He's exuding so much anger that I can feel it on the air.

"Roxas, you're not making any sense. Who did what? And what do you mean? Sora doesn't seem to have changed at all over the last few years." I am totally confused, but thinking about the shake in Sora's voice, it's obvious that something isn't quite right with him.

"That girl. The redhead. Kairi. She hurt him so bad…" He's shaking from the anger now. I've never seen him this angry. I'm the one with anger issues, and he looks like he's about to explode. It's like a role-reversal, and I don't like it one bit.

"Easy, Roxy, calm down. Take a deep breath and talk in full sentences." I repeat what he's told me before to try to get me to relax.

"I'm not going to calm down! He used to be happy! She ruined his life!" He is getting hysterical by now. I stare, unsure of what to do. "Can…" his voice quiets down, and it sounds like he is about to lose it, "Can you even imagine Sora smiling? Do you know how hard it is to live with a brother who barely even responds to anything because he's so unhappy?" He digs in his pocket, and shoves something in my hand.

It is a crumpled photograph of three boys playing in the ocean spray. I recognize Roxas right away, and one seems to be the silver-haired boy that he had been staring at, but the other…could that really be Sora? His eyes and smile were the brightest I'd ever seen, and he seemed about to burst with joy. "This doesn't look like Sora…he doesn't have blue eyes, Roxy."

"He does," Roxas whispers. He doesn't look angry anymore, just incredibly sad. "He wears colored contacts." I give him back the photograph, thinking about the Sora I know. I've never, ever seen him smile. I just assumed he had always been that way. "What did she do to him, Roxy?" I asked.

"She told him that Riku hated him," he answers, his eyes going ice cold, "and Riku is the person he adored most in the world."

"The silver-head, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he believed her?" I'm astonished. It was just something that small.

"He believed anything back then," Roxas seems to stare straight through me. "Riku didn't even come find out what was wrong, even though he saw that Sora was crying. It broke him. He tried to hurt himself," Roxas admits, and I can see that it takes a lot of trust for him to tell me that. "I hate her."

"Well then," I say, trying to figure out what to do, "…why don't we make her life a living hell, and see how she likes it?" I smirk at him as an evilly perfect plan comes to mind. "Let's torture her until she apologizes."

"That won't solve the whole problem…" His eyes focus on me again. "…but it's a start."

"Good. Then I've got something to start us out. Just stay close and out of sight, okay?" I grin at him as he gives me a suspicious look.

"This had better be good." He stands in one of the shadowed parts of the hallway, and I stand near the door and wait. The bell clangs to signal that classes will begin in five minutes, and students begin to pour from the cafeteria. As soon as I spot her red hair and little pink dress, I walk up to her and hook an arm around hers, forcing her to the side of the hallway.

"Hey, cutie, what's your name?" I ask, putting on my best flirting voice. I can feel Roxas's eyes glaring into my back.

"I'm Kairi," she says in an overly sugar sweet voice. It's a bit sickening to the ears. She bats her eyelashes at me, and I have to force myself not to laugh at how stupid she looks.

"How about I give you a "personal" tour of the school?" I ask, trying to ignore the chill that has gone up my back. "You're pretty sexy. I like redheads. I'm a redhead, and I'm damn sexy, don't you think?" I strike a pose, and she giggles.

"I would love a tour, sexy boy," she replies. I decide to move this along quite quickly, as Roxas might kill me if it goes on much longer like this. The hallways have gotten pretty empty by now, so it's a good time.

"Then, first stop is one of the school's special landmarks. They call it "The Haunted Locker". Supposedly there's a monster that lives inside it." I lead her down the hall to one of the lockers I know is broken.

"Is that it?" she asks mock-curiously.

"It doesn't look scary, but I've heard that somebody got eaten by it once, and all they found were the person's teeth afterwards." I bang open the locker. "Take a look." It's a full-size locker, and someone broke the shelf out of it years ago. She walks up to look inside it, then leans over as if she were looking at something on the bottom of the locker. I don't care for the view, and so, shove her in and shut the locker.

"Wha- Help! Let me out of here!" she screamed, banging on the walls of the locker.

"Sorry, but the locker needs its lunch," I sneer, "and you're the perfect sacrifice!" I laugh. They won't be able to get her out of there for hours…I turn around to see Roxas looking at me with a disgruntled look. "Aw, it worked didn't it?" I sling my arm around his shoulders. "I may like redheads, but I _love_ blonds," I tell him, knowing exactly what he's annoyed about. "Want me to show you?" I grin. I don't like my first hour, anyhow, and Roxas doesn't even have one. "On the way to class," he answers, and then yells at the locker. "Don't you _ever_ mess with Sora again!" There's a gasp to be heard from the locker, but we just turn and walk away, Roxas stopping me a few hallways down to take me up on my offer before he shoves me into my classroom. No slacking off today, I guess, but the grin he gave me as we left her there is very much worth the trouble.


	4. Make My Brown Eyes Blue

This is the first chapter that is written completely by me…hope you like?

Original Story: thewateryfiredrummer

Warning: Yaoi/Yuri pairings…if you didn't figure that out already…

Disclaimer: I have a Vexen doll?

Love and War - Reincarnation

Chapter 4 - Make My Brown Eyes Blue

-Demyx-

I watch Axel and Roxas leave, then look at Sora. He's got his head in his arms, and Xion has moved to rub his back. Namine has returned and is watching him and looking confused. Actually, just about everyone looks confused and worried, except the two at the other end of the table, who just glance over and return to their previous occupied state. I turn to look at Zexion, who is watching Sora over the edge of his book. Olette slides into the seat beside Namine, the seat that Axel had occupied previously. I hear a choked sob, and realize that Sora is crying.

I want to know what's going on. I don't like getting left out of things, even though it seems that no one knows what's going on this time except Sora and Roxas, and maybe Axel now. I take a quick look behind me, noting the new students. Is it one of them that has Sora freaking out? The redhead is being ignored by the silver-haired boy, it seems. This is just all too weird. Sora usually shows almost as few emotions as Zexion, which makes this a very odd occurrence. Namine has moved to Sora's side as well, but it is clear that he isn't saying anything.

The bell rings loudly, but Sora isn't going anywhere. He's still crying, and trying to be quiet about it. Larxene and Marluxia are gone immediately. Zexion and the three girls follow, as their classes are in far places of campus. I have swimming practice, but don't move immediately. "Sora," I whisper, "Are you going to come with me today?" He usually comes to watch the swimming practice. I've never seen him get in the water, but sometimes there's this odd look in his eye when he watches, like he wishes he were. He's always extremely silent afterwards, but I've gotten used to that.

He nods at me, and rubs at his eyes. I hand him a wipe from my bag. I use them to clean my instruments, but they've also had various other uses over the last couple of years. We head out the door with the last big rush of students. We turn down the hall that leads down in the direction of the gym building, and I stop, noticing that Sora isn't directly behind me. I see him behind me, and it seems that he has run into someone…and if it isn't the new student with the silver hair. He helps Sora up, and as I walk closer, I hear him apologize.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have stopped so suddenly. I'm Riku, what's your name?" he asks. A stunned look crosses Sora's face, then he just up and runs. I follow him, knowing that if I keep near him, he might just tell me what's going on. I hear a bathroom door slam, and go in. Sora's by the bathroom sink, staring into the mirror. He doesn't seem to have noticed that I followed him, so I tap his shoulder. He jumps, then turns, tears rubbed from his eyes making his cheeks and nose red.

"He didn't recognize me…" he whispers.

"Sora, who was that?" I ask, sweeping Sora's bangs out of his face; they're all wet with tears.

"My- an old friend." He stumbles over his words. "I guess it's all my fault." I am about to ask why, until he turns away from me, and plucks a contact out of his eye. He pulls a case out of his bag, and places first one, then the other contact in it. Pure blue eyes stare at me from the mirror. "Is it wrong of me to want to hide?" he asks. I shake my head, wondering what exactly makes him want to hide something like the way he looks.

"I don't know." I look at my cell phone. "Practice started ten minutes ago! I've gotta go! Come on Sora!" I drag him out of the bathroom and down the hallway. I'm horrible about being late! There isn't even anyone in the hallways. We run outside, then into the gym building. I navigate the rooms of the building, huffing and puffing as I rush up to the group at the edge of the pool. "Sorry I was late! I had some personal things to take care of!" My, what a generic excuse.

There was a general sigh from several of my teammates, but they didn't say anything about it. "We have a new member of the swim team joining us today. This is Riku." Sure enough, the silver-haired boy was standing next to our coach. I looked behind me to see what Sora would have to say about this, but he was long gone.

Swimming practice goes as usual, and Riku seems to be an excellent swimmer. I get yelled at several times for being distracted, mainly because I'm trying to decide whether to get involved in Sora's business or not. He's my friend, but I don't know if it would be stepping out of my boundaries to ask Riku what exactly happened between the two of them. I don't get a chance before practice is over, but I decide that I'll ask Zexion about it. He's smart enough that he'll know what to do.


	5. Still Alone

Thank you to my kind reviewers, I love you all very much…can anyone guess which singer sings the song that this chapter is titled after? I'll give you a couple of clues. It's not in english, and the translation of one of the lines is "I've learned a lot from being alone." First one to guess gets a one-shot featuring a character/pairing of their choice~ Kingdom Hearts related, of course.

This chapter took me a while to write, but it seems to have finally come together. I have a plot in my head, it's just hard to come up with the exact details sometimes.

Yay, I got to write as Riku! He has his own problems, and things have been going rocky for him as well...

Original Story: thewateryfiredrummer

Warning: Yaoi/Yuri pairings…if you didn't figure that out already…

Disclaimer: I has bookmarks…but claim no actual ownership of Kingdom Hearts.

Love and War - Reincarnation

Chapter 5 - Still Alone

-Riku-

I'm so confused. I'm absolutely positive that I saw Roxas this morning, but if he's here…then where's Sora? They had been inseparable from what I can remember. The only people around him were the two ebony haired people who looked like they could be related to him…and they looked like twins as well, even more so than Sora and Roxas had. Well, except for the fact that the boy, for I am sure now that he is a boy, has dark brown eyes, whereas the girl, from the glimpse I had caught of her, has blue eyes like Sora's…so much so that I felt my memories stir when I looked at her. How long has it been since I had last seen Sora? Too many years. Kairi isn't much of a companion; she is so clingy. I had hoped to get away from her when we moved, but had no such luck. She always comes with us, and had even left her adopted family to live with myself and my brothers. Things had seemed so much brighter before Sora moved…moved without even saying goodbye, or where he was going. Seeing Roxas, and that girl with such similar eyes…it is just so strange. Then, I ran into that boy… Why was he so scared of me? He could just be shy, but even then, why did he run away so fast? Ugh, why do I even care?

I find the gym building, and quickly maneuver my way to the locker rooms. We were given a tour the afternoon before, and I remember most of it. I get ready for swimming, stick my clothes in an empty locker, and stick a padlock on the door. I stand by the pool, and the coach introduces me to the team. There's that strange blonde guy again, and he is pulling the dark-haired boy behind him. Wow, the blond's pretty loud. I look away for a second, and the dark-haired boy is gone again. The blonde seems to have noticed that he is gone as well, but doesn't go after him. I guess he isn't part of the team after all. Swim practice goes quickly, and so does the rest of the day. The black-haired boy is no where to be seen at lunch, and I only catch a glimpse of him once during the afternoon.

After the last bell rings, I manage to evade Kairi, and sneak off to the gym building. There aren't any beaches around here, so I'll have to make do with practicing in the pool. I like to do more practice than most people, because I want to be as strong as possible. It isn't like I have anything better to do, as I don't seem to be able to keep any friends for very long. I don't know why, but they all avoid me after I start to get to know them better. I must have some awful personality flaw or something. At least Kairi has always been there for me, even if she can be annoying.

I change into my swim trunks, and look in the cracked mirror on the wall by one of the sinks. Is it something about my looks? I really don't know. I don't know what to think, and I've thought over every possibility hundreds of times. Sure, my hair is a strange color, but would that really put people off enough for me to end up practically alone every time? I shake my head, hair flying every which direction. I shouldn't think about it so much, I know. I tie up my hair, and turn away from the mirror. I guess…I've gotten used to being alone. It seems as if Sora was the last person I ever got close to. I miss him so much. I'm going to have to find Roxas tomorrow morning, and perhaps I will finally be able to find out where Sora is.

I am startled to find I'm not the only one using the pool to practice. There's someone already in the pool, and they swim like a fish. The person swims so quickly, and might even be faster than me. Finally, the person comes to the surface, sucking in a deep breath of air. Then they swim back to the side that faces the locker room's door. I walk over to the edge of the pool, to the place where this person will most likely emerge. As the person comes closer, I see that it must be male, because he isn't wearing a top, only swim trunks. He bursts to the surface, sucks in air, and rubs at his eyes before opening them. I look down at his face, just as his eyes open, and I recognize the shade of blue that looks back at me. It startles me, and I stare, mouth open. He's staring at me, too, and all that goes through my mind is: Sora. That's…Sora. His hair is darker, and he looks sort of strange, but I would know those, blue, blue eyes anywhere. They're beautiful.

I break the silence first. "S-sora?" My voice is shaky. This could just be a dream. I don't want it to be, but it feels like it could be. I reach out and touch his cheek, it's completely real, and I can feel the water droplets on his skin. I'm amazed. Somehow, I never really believed that I would ever see him again. He looks different somehow, but time does do that to people. It doesn't matter, because I've found him. I've found Sora, and-

He jerks away from me, and pulls himself speedily out of the pool. I blink, a bit stunned as he rushes to the locker room, but soon hurry after him. I enter the locker room, and he is throwing on clothes, not even bothering to shower. He grabs his bag and runs right past me. I try to stop him, but he's too fast. "Sora, wait!" I yell as he runs for the door. I chase after him, only to lose sight of him somewhere in the building. "Sora?" I call, but there is no answer. I sigh, and slump down against a wall. What…what did I do? Why is he running? I sit and think for a bit, trying to figure out what's going on, but all that comes to mind is the image of him staring up at me, blue eyes wide. Beautiful blue eyes…eyes that were undeniably sad. I hadn't even realized at the time, but he had looked scared, and an awful lot like he was going to cry…

What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment? Why is it…anyone I care about…avoids me…why do I always end up…so alone? I push away from the wall, and go change back into my normal clothes. I don't feel like swimming anymore. I go outside, and it looks like it's going to rain, so I run home to avoid the oncoming rain. I can't get the look on Sora's face out of my mind, no matter how I try, and I keep remembering more details. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and his hair was mostly flattened. He was so different from the person I remember. Did…did I do that to him? It frightens me.

I shove open my front door to be greeted by the smell of food cooking, which means my brothers must be home early. Good. Kadaj and Yazoo are yelling about something again, but that's normal. I fling my school bag into my room, and seek out Loz. I curl up next to him on the couch. He's watching some news program I don't care about. He looks down at me, and I move closer to him. That makes him lift an eyebrow. "It's only the first day at school. It can't possibly be that bad already," he told me.

"It is." I pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I sigh, and announce, "I saw Sora." Kadaj and Yazoo go silent, and the three turn to look at me.

"Are you sure?" asked Loz quietly. I nod, and the other two go back to arguing. They're quieter now, and I can tell they're listening.

"He ran away from me." Loz slings an arm around my shoulders, and I let him comfort me like he used to do when I was younger. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember is Kadaj shaking me.

"Food's done." I rub the sleep from my eyes, and go to get some food. I mostly pick at it, and my brothers give me weird looks, but I brush off their questions and go to bed early, telling them that I'm really tired. I find it hard to fall asleep, and mildly wonder why Kairi wasn't at dinner. She's probably got a ton of friends already, and is most likely out with them. She's always popular, and I'll be part of her circle of friends for a few months, until they start ignoring me as well, I suppose. I-I…want to stop being alone…I want to have friends.


End file.
